THE PRUITT REPORT WEISS, HANDLER, ANGELOS & CORNWELL, P.A. TODAY IN THE PRUITT REPORT: PSC GETS BOGGED DOWN ON FPL RECONSIDERATION BRISE TAKES PSC OATH MOSQUITO ALERT! HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE CAUTION FEINBERG BACK IN PANHANDLE LOBBYING INCOME DIPPED DURING FIRST HALF OF YEAR STATE WILL USE STIMULUS MONEY TO HELP PAY FOR SOLAR REBATES FLORIDA GETS MONEY TIED TO FEDERAL HEALTH CARE REFORM PSC GETS BOGGED DOWN ON FPL RECONSIDERATION: The Public Service Commission disagreed Tuesday on whether to consider a Florida Power & Light request to reconsider part of a rate increase request that it was denied earlier. FPL, the state's largest power company, had requested the PSC undo $28 million of a $101 million fuel recovery adjustment it made to the company's working capital. The panel had been expected to defer the matter, but Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano suggested that waiting might push a decision back until she and Commissioner Nathan Skop were off the panel, hinting the company wanted to wait until in January, when their replacements, who have not yet been named, will take office. Skop, who like Argenziano saw his application for re-appointment to the PSC denied by a panel of lawmakers this summer, was chairing the meeting Tuesday because Argenziano had phoned in. He tried to hand the gavel to Commissioner Lisa Edgar, who was in favor of the deferral, so he could second Argenziano's motion to deny the request for reconsideration Tuesday. Edgar refused to take the gavel, leading to a 15 minute procedural discussion. BRISE TAKES PSC OATH: New Florida Public Service Commissioner Ronald Brisé was publicly sworn-in to the panel this morning before the PSC's regularly scheduled meeting. Brisé, a former state representative who was appointed with Art Graham last month by Gov. Charlie Crist to replace ousted former Commissioners David Klement and Benjamin "Steve" Stevens, had already begun serving on the PSC. Accompanied by his family, he took the oath of office at the panel's Tallahassee headquarters, promising to be a fair commissioner. "I hope to be able to serve the state in fashion I have in the past," he said, noting the differences between the PSC and the Legislature. "Beyond that, I hope to be fair, I hope to continue to study and be well-prepared every time that I sit here. I hope to know the issues so that the decisions I make can be based on the facts, not emotions." Reps. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, and Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, attended the ceremony. MOSQUITO ALERT! HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE CAUTION: Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has taken the lives of four Floridians so far this year, health officials reported Tuesday as the state enters the peak season for mosquito-borne illnesses in the water logged state. West Nile Virus and EEE have been detected in 43 counties as of Aug. 14, according to statistics compiled by the Florida Department of Health, which tracks the diseases. EEE was responsible for two deaths in Hillsborough County and one death each in Leon and Wakulla County in north Florida. Wade Griffin, an otherwise healthy 50 year old commercial painter, died July 16 after falling ill in a week earlier. Griffin was the second north Florida resident to die from the disease. On July 10, James Burge, a 56-yar-old retired postal worker from Sopchoppy in Wakulla County, succumbed to the virus. In addition, health officials are warning of a re-emergence of the dengue virus, a typically nonfatal disease which began showing up in 2009 after being silent in the state since its last major outbreak in 1934. Health officials urge residents to stay indoors at night or wear protective clothing. Standing water should also be drained. FEINBERG BACK IN PANHANDLE: Federal BP claims administrator Ken Feinberg is back in the Panhandle today for a nuts and bolts discussion of the federal claims process. The government is in the process of taking over payment of many of the private claims for compensation for oil spill losses, and by next week the federally-administered $20 billion escrow account is where most of that money will come from. Feinberg, tapped by President Obama by oversee the fund after having been the claims administrator for families of Sept. 11 victims, will talk to the public this morning at the Pensacola Civic Center. Members of the House Deepwater Horizon Working Group, which is considering possible economic relief moves, will also attend. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, the commercial shrimping season has opened and shrimpers reported Monday a first-day catch that was largely oil free. Shrimping had already been opened in Florida waters, and federal officials say they could re-open federal waters soon. Also on Monday, the Associated Press reported that a Georgia team of scientists is contradicting claims by the federal government that most of the oil has burned away or evaporated. While government officials have said only about 25 percent of the oil remains in the Gulf, the Georgia Sea Grant and University of Georgia team said the government's report was inaccurate and about 80 percent of the spilled fuel remains in the water LOBBYING INCOME DIPPED DURING FIRST HALF OF YEAR: Florida lobbyists reported receiving less money during the first six months of this year compared with the same time period in 2009. This means that professional lobbyists were paid slightly less for work they did during the recently completed 2010 session. An analysis done by the Florida Tribune of new lobbying compensation reports turned in this past weekend shows that the median amount for the first two quarters was $61.8 million or $2.72 million less than the first two quarters of 2009. Lobbyists were paid $31.5 million during the first quarter and $30.2 million during the second quarter. Lobbying firms do not report exact totals but instead list their income within a range. "We are not bullet proof,'' said Brian Ballard, senior partner at Smith & Ballard. "People have cut back." Ballard said that his firm saw a five-percent decline during calendar year 2009, but that many contracts are done on a yearly basis so the drop-off is being seen during the first half of this year. "You are seeing the reporting catching up with the economy,'' Ballard said. The 2010 totals are the lowest reported since the first six months of 2007 when lobbyists reported earning a median amount of $60.8 million. Most of the top-earning firms remain unchanged from the first quarter of 2010. Four lobbying outfits reported earning $1 million or more during the period from April 1 to June 30: Ron Book, Southern Strategy Group, GrayRobinson and Smith & Ballard. Six firms reported earning somewhere between $500,000 and $999,000: Capital City Consulting, Colodny Fess Talenfeld Karlinsky & Abate, Dutko Worldwide LLC, Floridian Partners, Foley & Lardner and Johnson & Blanton. Fowler White Boggs reported making $500,000 and more during the first quarter but reported earning between $250,000 and $499,000 during the second quarter of this year. Article at the Florida Tribune. STATE WILL USE STIMULUS MONEY TO HELP PAY FOR SOLAR REBATES: A solar energy representative on Monday welcomed state action to pay some of the more than 15,000 in applications that have been filed for solar energy rebates. The Florida Solar Energy Incentives Program, which began in 2006, paid up to $20,000 for solar electric panels on Florida homes. But the program has received no money from the Legislature since 2008 and expired under state law on June 30. The backlog of $52 million in requested rebates continues to increase as applications for work done before June 30 are received. On Friday, the Florida Energy and Climate Commission agreed to use $13.9 million in federal stimulus dollars to pay for some of that backlog. The U.S. Department of Energy approved using the federal stimulus money, said Rob Vickers, director of the Governor's Energy Office. The DOE inspector general in July criticized the federal agency for approving Florida's use of stimulus dollars for work done before Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009. Those applications that will be paid with the new money were received after June 2009. Vickers said his office would continue to seek additional funding for the rebate program as it becomes available. Some solar energy advocates say the state owes money to those who paid for solar devices and then applied for the rebates, but the state says the payments depended on the availability of money for the program. Using the $13.9 million is a good start towards paying down the rebate backlog, said Bruce Kershner, executive director of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association. "I think people made the commitment to renewable energy and the state needs to figure out a way to pay them," he said. Article at the Florida Tribune. FLORIDA GETS MONEY TIED TO FEDERAL HEALTH CARE REFORM: Florida insurance regulators will receive $1 million from the federal government to better help the state regulate health insurance premiums, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Monday. In a teleconference call with reporters Sebelius said the money should be "going out the door today or tomorrow." According to a summary of the grant application $644,416 will be spent on salaries and benefits for six employees, including an economist, project coordinator and actuary. Another $270,000 will go to computer contractors to help build a more consumer-friendly website. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will also, according to the HHS release, seek approval during the 2011 session to review and approve large group health insurance premiums and out-of-state policies. Florida does not have review authority over either currently. Insurance regulators also will develop new rate filing requirements for individual and small group plans. The Lakeland Ledger reports Florida is one of a handful of states that don't have laws presently on the books to carry out the federal health care reform overhaul. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has published states' responses to their ability to enforce provisions in the federal health care overhaul. Florida is getting help despite the fact most Republicans in state government oppose health care reform. Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill McCollum has filed a lawsuit against the federal health care overhaul, claiming that the 2014 mandate to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty reports to McCollum as well as Gov. Charlie Crist and two other Cabinet members. While the mandate has gotten headlines many of the significant health insurance reforms in the bill go into effect the end of this year and in 2011. In January medical loss ratios -- which require insurance companies to spend a targeted amount of money on health care -- will kick in. Additionally the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to review unreasonable premium increases. Florida is one of 45 states to receive the funding, according to HHS. Five states – including neighboring Alabama and Georgia -- did not apply for any grant funding. Article at the Florida Tribune. State news coverage please visit: Federal news coverage please visit: Ken Pruitt Weiss, Handler, Angelos & Cornwell, P.A.
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